Ontario Crop Residue Value Estimator

Posted on by Ben Rosser in Corn&Soybean&Winter Wheat

The Ontario crop residue value estimator tool can be accessed by clicking the icon below.

(this is the same tool previously posted on gocorn.net)



Simple Summary

  • The crop residue value estimator tool helps provide an estimate of the value of crop residue.
  • The tool provides an estimate of N, P and K nutrient removal and value when corn, soybean or wheat residues are removed from a field.
  • Costs for baling, transport and storing can also be entered.


Ontario Crop Residue Value Estimator Tool

Crop residue contains nutrients. Removing crop residue from your farm removes those nutrients. If you are selling straw (or other crop residues) that won’t be coming back to your farm as manure, what is the minimum value you should consider to ensure you are reimbursed for exporting those nutrients?

Figure 1. Screenshot of Ontario crop residue value estimator tool.


Using the Tool

The Ontario crop residue value estimator tool (Fig. 1) uses estimates of crop residue nutrient concentrations (based on crop residue type, time of removal) and quantities removed to estimate nutrient removal from fields. It provides an estimate of residue value by:

  1. Valuing the fertilizer replacement cost for N, P and K nutrients removed
    • value of urea, MAP and potash fertilizers are entered as costs of replacing N, P and K nutrients
  1. Adjusting for type of crop residue and removal timing
    • different crop residues have different nutrient concentrations (wheat straw, soybean stems, soybeans pods, corn stover, corn cobs and husks)
    • delayed removal of crop residues (e.g. spring instead of fall) can allow weathering and some nutrients to leach from residue
  1. Estimating the amount of residue removed
    • the amount of residue removed is estimated one of two ways
      • estimating the amount of residue produced based on grain yield and estimating amount of residue removed based on residue recovery rate
      • entering the known quantity of residue removed (e.g. residue yield from scaled weights)
    • moisture contents are asked to adjust transportation costs

  1. Including residue collection costs
    • cost of collecting residue (conditioning, gathering, baling, removal, storage and transportation) can be included for valuing bales that have already been removed from field
  1. Considering soil fertility needs
    • if soil nutrient test values are high (e.g., in a range where we wouldn’t expect any response to fertilizer), nutrient removal may have little impact on fertilizer needs and it may not make sense to apply a fertilizer replacement value to nutrients removed
    • soil test thresholds where we would expect nutrient removal to have little impact on fertilizer requirements would include 20 ppm for P, 120 ppm for K and 5% organic matter for N (no fertilizer replacement value is included for soil test values above these thresholds)
    • nutrient removal even at high soil test values will at some point reduce soil test levels however


Output

After entering the above information, the tool will provide estimates for:

  • amount of residue and nutrients removed (lb/ac)
  • value of recovered residue (conditioned, gathered, baled, transported, stored) and value of nutrients removed with it (both on an acreage ($/ac) and dry matter weight ($/t-DM) basis)
  • total value of residue ($/ac and $/t-DM)